BEACH BANTER:

The BIG news of the week for Absecon Island was the news that Congress was forking over 1.914 Mil. for the AISPP.  It's been 6 yrs. since the project first started. Most of this money however is going to be absorbed by the bulkhead being planned for the INLET. This means very little sand if any is being planned for the beach.  

BEST LOCAL PUBLIC SECTOR JOB

Here's my pick for the best local public service job in town. Try 30K plus benefits for being the Ventnor Pier watcher! 8 Mos. of the yr. you do nothing and for four you do next to nothing. 

SOME COMMONSENSE @ LAST!

North Topsail Beach , NC

It's not very often I find public officials doing the right thing when it comes to coastal policy these days. The usual chant from these creatures is for more and more public $$ for so called Beach Replenishment. In NJ Beach Replenishment is now the primary method of coastal management and although those doing it try to tell everyone it's cost effective,  it really isn't. As the sources of easily obtainable beach quality sand begin to vanish , as it already has in many areas of the coast ,the cost will rise precipitously. To the south of us however, things are beginning to change. Here's an article out of North Carolina that details a far different approach  to coastal managemen.  My guess is that it won't be long before NJ's coastal management teams will find themselves having to take a very similar course. Anyway, click at the title link for the whole story.

AISPP GETS 1.9 mil. from Congress

GOOGLE PIC. of ABSECON ISLAND

It's been 6 yrs. since the AISPP started in AC and worked it's way down to Ventnor. 6 yrs since another grain of sand has been put onto Absecon Island's beaches. Take a walk from the Inlet to the States ave. and it's pretty scary right now. No beach and no dune exists on wide stretches of these beaches. The Army promised to be back in 3 yrs. but they only work for cash and Congress wasn't handing much over in those yrs. With the economy in tatters after 8 yrs. of robbery under the most corrupt administration in U.S. history it's now the Democrats turn to loot the treaury and pour millions into the ocean. Of course they'll call these projects job creators. LOL! Oh yea they create jobs alright for the few people that work for dredging companies like Great Lakes or Weeks marine. Nevertheless, AC needs the sand...one catch most of that $$ is going to rebuild the Absecon Inlet sea wall not for sand on the beach. How far do you think a few hundred thousand will go on the beaches? Not far is my guess. 

Mayor Langford, hello!

Mayor Langford sir, when are you going to ask the State of NJ to come and fill your rapidly eroding beaches again sir? For your Information the State DEP is spending millions on every Island around AC,  yet you and the AC City Council are it seems totally oblivious to what is happening. Wake up! Give the Gov. a call and demand some of that State $$ set aside specifically  for NJ Beach Projects, that is being filled daily by your Casinos.

HAULING SAND FOR $$$

Here's an interesting story about sand mining in Fla. Seems they've run out of any sand to pump from offshore sites in central and southern Fla. these days. So now it gets a bit more complicated and expensive. Read all about it @ the Title link.

ANTARCTICA - MELTDOWN!

Here's some REALLY bad news! Think the meltdown of the economy is something to worry about, as they like to say in North Joisey fogetaboutit! Here's something to really be concerned about, especially if you live on an Island or near the coast. Click on the title link and read on!

SUNSET REGGAE BEACH - ST. KITTS

Bankers vacation 2009 ... Here's what THEY'RE doing with our billions folks.

SOROS

Here's a man some people believe is one of the world's most savvy money guys. George Soros has made billions investing and trading on world currency markets. @ the title link is an article in Reuters news service about a speech he gave a few nights ago , specifically about the recent collapse of the world's financial system. It's sobering, to say the least.

BEACH BANTER: - AC LOOKING BLIGHTED

Ugly story about the future of AC's Gaming Industry @ the title link.

I've been calling this one for yrs. It seems the 30 yr. Casino fueled party is over here. Last one over the bridge turn out the lights! ( not the Margate bridge)

Science Fri.: FTL

FTL or Faster then Light. Is it possible to go faster then light? Some scientists thinks so. Did u know that a shadow travels faster then light? Read on about this fascinating topic at the title link. Remember , once scientists thought you couldn't go faster then the sound barrier.

SEA DRAGON @ THE WEDGE

You have to love this shot taken last Oct. of Body surfer Mel Thoman giving the crowd on the beach @ the Wedge ( In Newport Beach, Ca) something to cheer about!

EXILES: THE ONE

Great video of this band. The song is post-punk rap.

THE DROPKICK MURPHYS - I'm Shipping up to Boston

Did u see the movie "The Departed?" This was the theme song. Great band , great movie.

BERMUDA

It's that time of the winter folks isn't it? The 40 deg. ocean just isn't that inviting in NJ in Feb. and even a walk on a windy day this time of yr. on the beach is daunting. Bermuda on the other hand looks interesting.

NO. 1 - PRESIDENT

A. Lincoln- The Pick of hundreds of Historians for Best American President in History!

Click on the title page for the entire line up and story!  Guess where GW BV$H is?

THE MASTER SPEAKS !

OREGON INLET, N.C.

Rarely these days do we hear from one of Coastal Geology's living legends,  scourge of the Army Engineers, Dr. Orrin Pilkey.  Dr. Pilkey's scathing critiques of the Army Engineers coastal programs is legendary. In the 90's Dr. Pilkey wrote a famous book ( The Corp. & the Shore) about how the Corp.,  as he calls them, had basically been ravaging the nations beaches, with it's shoddy engineering.  Anyway, Orrin's back today with an article in a North Carolina newspaper and he's taken aim once again at another group of coastal villains ( Coastal engineering consultants).  Click on the title link to read his latest broadside @ the sand lobby.

THE BUBBLE ECONOMY & THE RIGHT TO LIFE MERGE!

Sometimes nature recapitulates in the flesh what has happened in the larger world these last eight yrs. This women is the living embodiment of two seemingly disparate phenomenon in the natural world.  It leaves one wondering. 

SCIENCE FRIDAY - HE 3 - FUSION - THE MOON

THE MOON 

Now here's a stimulus package that will create massive amounts of very high paying jobs , solve our energy crisis as well as global warming and get us on our way to our destiny ( control of the Galaxy.) ( after we defeat the ZARGONS that is!!) :)     Read on at the title link.

THEATER OF THE ABSURD - ACT 3

More on the Army Corp. search for weapons on their project beach in Surf City.  This story is rapidly devolving into a theater of the absurd.  I'm afraid this is what will become a "shovel ready" part of the fed. stimulus.  Anyway, read all about the last act of this play @ the title link.

Strathmere again!

Strathmere beach

Another AC Press story about Stratmere's so called Beach Project. More tax payer funds into the Ocean when the State is broke and millions are losing their jobs.  This is the priority folks ...sand for a few while millions eat dirt.  Feel stimulated?  Read all about it at the title link!

PENNY POSTCARDS OF OLD AC ETC..

If you like looking @ old post cards here's a great website where you can find all kinds of great old post cards from long ago. Check out the NJ/AC site for some classics like the picture above of Steel Pier  in early 20th century.

THE STIMULUS !!

The Stimulus Laffite Rothchild 61' or  Ripple 68'?

Ask a Republican and it's Ripple, a Dem. & it's Rothchild 61'. Ask me, and I'd say it's probably closer to Gallo 08'. Will it stimulate the economy without the hangover of hyper-inflation? We'll find out sooner or later I guess? Will it create jobs? Maybe, but it's more likely to just line the pockets of many of the same inside players that have already feasted on Gov't taxes and called it a bail-out.  Whose been bailed out?  Nobody seems to know where the 1st 350 Billion of the bank bail-out went and it appears nobody , except the taxpayers cares. As for the Stimulus we can only pray it helps. But, I wouldn't set your expectations to high that it will any time soon. It's more likely we'll be seeing more of the kinds of thank yous ( pink slips) to the taxpayers that GM handed 5,000 of it's salaried employees today. How must those people feel when they watch their clueless CEO go to DC in the Corp. jet beg for pork and then come back and announce to these same taxpayers ( their ex-employees) to go screw themselves ..thank you. Is it any wonder Americans across the political spectrum are royally pissed off these days. We start the year learning the big banks and others ( AIG) have handed their top Managers billions in bonuses while hundreds of thousands of their employees are being layed off.  This when everyone told Congress last fall that this is exactly what we feared if we handed this crowd our taxes! Whose surprised that we're all being treated by the BIG Corps. and their DC flunkies as the chumps we all are? They must be literally laughing all the way back to THEIR banks. 

Beach Banter

Faded Rose

With the latest announcement of another cancelled Casino project in AC ( four in a month), you could say the bloom is off the rose here. Some locally, are saying it's all because of the International Recession. I might buy that reason if it wasn't for the fact that AC's fortunes turned sour over 2.5 yrs ago. I was writing about our imminent decline back then and now it's all coming to pass.

CASINOS as a Development Idea

The bottom line is this, the owners of the casinos have failed to produce a sustainable and wider economy in AC. They're own much vaunted plans to rebuild the town failed miserably. As I always like to say, Communist China has done a much better job of developing it's economy this last 30 yrs. then AC's Big Corp. and Big Government overseers. The truth is both groups failed to deliver. One drive around the town shows you what happens when you try top down development. The middle class and small business sector gets the shaft and with them more then half of the employment potential of the community. The Casinos to be blunt were greedy and stupid in the way they could have cared less how the rest of the local economy languished. Now they're paying the price. Gambling just isn't enough and all their rah rah rah PR BS won't fix it! As for the BIG Gov't side of the equation, what can one say? The Big Gov't guys made sure they strictly enforced the law on all the little guys while largely allowing the BIG guys ( the casinos) to do as they damn well pleased. The result is obvious. The folks with the BIG Corp. jobs have done fine and the people with Gov't jobs have flourished as well. That's 50 % of the population. The rest of the picture is bleak now. How do we get out of this mess is the big ??  Will the Federal stimulus bill work? I'll talk about what I think about that in tomorrow's blog.

SCIENCE FRI.

IMAGE of OCEAN BOTTOM from new GOOGLE OCEANS FEATURE

Here's a new science based site to check out. click on the title link for more.

FROZEN!!

Niagra Falls ( Viagra Falls) 1911

I thought these photos of Niagra Falls circa 1911 fit today's weather outside in the mid-atlantic. If your in the east try and stay warm today. It's cold all the way to Miami! ( relatively speaking)

VERO BEACH NEEDS SAND?

VERO BEACH

Another haunt of the wealthy needs sand. Whose surprised?  People have no shoes but in Vero that means a walk on their new temporary beach. Hell, need health Ins. , maybe can't pay your sub-prime anymore? No problem go for a walk on that new beach you just paid for in front of millionaires second or third homes( if you work on Wall st.).  This is what your tax money buys! You can walk along and try and look in the windows of the people enjoying the view a few months of the year. You'll feel a lot better knowing these folks won't have to worry. Wonder where all that bail-out money went , well while your walking on the beach the Stimulus $$ has just paid for  you can view the homes your bank bail-out is funding. Ok, so you can't get a lower rate and your job is going to China next yr. but hey enjoy that beach while it lasts. Oh, and the good news is when it does wash away you'll get to pay for it again and again and again! Don't you feel safer and stimulated?

THE MARGATE BRIDGE PETITION ONLINE!

Hansen's Golden Gate

   

The battle over the Margate bridge goes on here! At the link below sign on to a petition online to try and get our local Margate City officials involved in this issue. I've spoken to 2 of them and only one of the three Commissioners (Commissioner Maury Blumberg) wants to take some kind of action against the bridge. The other two Commissioners seem to believe that because the bridge is "private" it's beyond reproach.  IMHO they're very wrong on this issue. 

The REAL deal here:

The larger problem is the bridge doesn't lie on Margate land and the folks who have authority over it ( the County freeholders) have shown absolutely no interest in doing anything about the latest outrageous toll hikes.  Why should they? They know damn well buying a bridge and toll road going into Margate ( one of the counties wealthiest communities will go over with the rest of the countiees taxpayers and voters like a lead balloon.)  Nevertheless, sign the petition and let the local guys know your pissed off at what amounts to highway robbery in a time of economic decline for everyone. ( well almost everyone .)

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/MargateBridge/share/

GROUND HOGS DAY!!

He saw his shadow so get ready for atleast 6 more hard weeks of winter. Considering all the other shadows clouding the horizon these days I think Phil has it right this yr. Read more about Pete and his predictions at the title link. 

It's a beautiful warm ( relatively  speaking) winter day here in NJ today!